Lincoln and Mansfield are not geographically far apart, yet the Stags have faced the Imps in only 24 league seasons before this one. This was due to Lincoln playing most part of the fifties in the old 2nd division and their slide coincided then with the Stags first-ever promotion in 1962-63. Therefore, between 1952-53 and 1971-72 they only played once in the league! And when the Stags were promoted again in 1985-86, Lincoln were relegated to the old fourth, then became the first side to be relegated from the league and to bounce straight back!

Yet a number of Stags v Imps derbies in the past league history have been crowd-pullers, the stats dating back to 1934-35 when the Imps won both derbies early on.

And in three of the Imps' promotion seasons, 1951-52 with their club record scoring haul of 121 goals, 1980-81 with only 25 goals conceded and the latest in 1997-98, they failed to beat the Stags at home as well as away.

Last season, Lincoln won 2-1 at Field Mill thanks to two screamers of goals (Butcher and Gain early on in both halves) while Liam Lawrence equalized through a penalty just after the half-hour mark and also won the home game 4-1 due to an appalling second-half Stags showing after leading 1-0 at half-time thanks to yet another Liam Lawrence spot-kick. Incidentally, Lincoln's winning margins at Sincil Bank and Field Mill were exactly the same ones as the Stags achieved in the 2001-02 promotion season (see below).

Earlier this season, the sides shared four goals at Field Mill. First, goals from McAuley and Yeo put the Imps 2-0 up, but Adam Murray reduced the arrears just before half-time, shortley after Yeo's scoring for Lincoln. And early in the second half, Baptiste equalized in front of 5349.

Here are my picks of the cream concerning Stags v Imps fixtures:

* In 1951-52 the Stags did the double over Lincoln by winning 2-1 away on October 27, 1951 thanks to goals from Coole and Steele in front of 16364 fans, an attendance figure that was to be even bettered in the return fixture at Field Mill on March 15, 1952, when 19043 witnesses saw Reeve secure the Stags winner.

* In March 1963, Tommy Cummings had just been appointed Stags player-manager. On March 27, 1963, the Stags won the first of three consecutive away victories by mauling the Imps 6-2 thanks to an own-goal and one goal apiece from Morris, Hollett, Roy Chapman, Wagstaff and Coates. And one of the Lincoln scorers, Albert Scanlon (Linnecor was the other Imp to score without stopping the rout), was later to play for the Stags. Two Stags players in that fixture, ever-present goalie Colin Treharne as well as Roy Chapman, goal-poacher along with Ken Wagstaff, were later to represent Lincoln, Treharne ending his league career for the Imps in 1966-67. Even the one Imp with most league appearances up to 2001-02, Tony Emery with 402 league outings – finished his league career in Stagsland, his last league game being a 0-1 reverse at Stockport on December 31, 1960.

* On Easter Saturday, April 18, 1981, the Stags had faded out of the promotion picture while Lincoln were already promoted. But that didn't stop the Stags from winning 2-0 due to goals from Caldwell and Thomson.

* A 6-2 has also been secured at home. This happened on March 11, 1995, when Iffy Onoura scored a hat-trick within only a few minutes

* The teams also met in the Stags latest promotion season with the double achieved. At home, Corden scored a late winner to seal the 2-1 victory, and at Sincil Bank, the Stags stuffed the Imps 4-1 in a game that might be billed as the Lee Williamson show as he netted twice, Corden and Pemberton once in a derby that was like a home game with 1729 Stags fans out of 4072. Oddly, the 2001-02 Lincoln away game was the last Stags game before the start of the Stagsnet statistical previews.

On three occasions, all in December 2nd round ties at Field Mill spanning over 50 years, the clubs have faced each other in the FA Cup with the Stags going through on two occasions and Lincoln on one.

As one might expect, loads of players have appeared in Stags amber as well as for the Red Imps. The writer of these lines has found over 50 players having appeared for both sides, about twenty being checked with the help of the history CD. And some of them have also figured in the Lincoln hot-seat as well – with the current Lincoln one, Keith Alexander, as assistant manager/coach for the Stags in 1995-96.

Details courtesy of the Stags centenary book, various editions of Rothmans Football Yearbook and a vast played for both sides update courtesy of the Players Who's who on the history CD.
And some details – concerning some players in the 1962-63 games – are courtesy of Lincoln's – in my opinion – excellent official site when it comes to player stats!